A Portland jury found Nancy Crampton Brophy guilty of killing Daniel Brophy in June of 2018. She is a self-published romance novelist who wrote an essay entitled, “How to Murder Your Husband.” Nancy fatally shot her husband who was a chef. The 12-person jury found the 71-year-old woman guilty of second-degree murder. They deliberated for two days over Daniel Brophy’s death.
The 63-year-old Daniel Brophy was killed on June 2, 2018 as he prepared for work at the Oregon Culinary Institute in south-west Portland. The defendant’s 2011 how-to article detailed ways for commiting the perfect untraceable murder. The piece was written in the form of a brainstorming exercise for writers. Police never found the gun that killed Daniel Brophy.
Nancy Crampton Brophy showed no reaction or remorse to the verdict. The courtroom was packed in Multnomah county. Her lawyers said the defence team would appeal the decision. Nancy has been in custody since her arrest in September 2018. She will be sentenced on 13 June.
The circuit judge excluded the essay from the trial. The court said that it had been published several years ago. The jury was not allowed to consider it in their judgment. One of the prosecutors mentioned the essay’s themes without naming it.
The opening of the piece reads as follows: “As a romantic suspense writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about murder and, consequently, about police procedure. After all, if the murder is supposed to set me free, I certainly don’t want to spend any time in jail. And let me say clearly for the record, I don’t like jumpsuits and orange isn’t my color.”
It detailed motives – financial, “lying, cheating bastard”, abuser – and a discussion of possible methods. Knives were “personal and close up. Blood everywhere”, while poison, “considered a woman’s weapon”, was too easy to trace, Crampton Brophy wrote. Guns were “loud, messy, require some skill”.
Prosecutors said that Nancy Crampton Brophy was motivated by a life insurance policy. Crampton Brophy said her and her husband’s financial problems had largely been solved by cashing in a portion of Brophy’s retirement savings plan.
Nancy owned the same make and model of gun used to kill her husband. She also was seen on surveillance footage driving to and from the culinary institute. She was alleged to had bought a “ghost gun”, an untraceable firearm kit, and swapped parts with a shop-bought handgun. Her lawyers said the gun parts were props for a new book idea she had. They also said someone else might have killed Daniel Brophy during a botched robbery.
Crampton Brophy testified that her presence near the culinary school on the day of her husband’s death was a coincidence. She said that was an area she went merely to write.